SARAJEVO.- Four Italians were killed and 11 others injured on Thursday, October 29, 2026, when an Italian military helicopter operating with the European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina crashed during a routine training operation in the north of the country, EUFOR and Italy's defence ministry confirmed.
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in the Brcko region, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of the capital Sarajevo, near the village of Gorice in Brcko District. Images carried by local media showed the military transport helicopter overturned on flat grassy terrain.
There were 15 people on board. Three died in the crash itself and a fourth later succumbed to injuries in hospital, according to Salih Ibrahimbegovic, spokesman for Brcko hospital, where 12 people were brought for treatment. EUFOR said all 11 injured are receiving treatment and are in stable condition, none in a life-threatening condition.
Two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers
Italy's defence ministry said all those on board were Italian nationals. The victims were two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers: Sergeant Simone Ruggia and Sergeant Claudio Marchesi of the Italian Army Aviation Command, and Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Sergeant Laura Procacci of the Italian Red Cross Volunteer Military Corps, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said: "At this moment of immense grief, my thoughts go first and foremost to the families of our fallen, to whom I extend my personal condolences and those of the entire Defence establishment."
EUFOR said no civilians were injured and no civilian infrastructure, property or vehicles were damaged. The cause of the crash has not been determined: neither EUFOR nor Italy's defence ministry has identified a mechanical failure, weather-related issue, operational error or any other specific cause. EUFOR said it is conducting a "full and thorough investigation" and will release more information as it is verified.
The helicopter, an ICH-47F — the Italian Army configuration of Boeing's CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter — was deployed under Operation EUFOR Althea, the European Union's military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. EUFOR, which has between 1,000 and 1,500 personnel, took over from a NATO peacekeeping force in 2004 to help maintain security and oversee the military provisions of the Dayton peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 war.
Sources: Al Jazeera (October 30, 2026), Reuters via The Jerusalem Post (October 29, 2026), Daily Sabah (October 29, 2026), EUFOR statement (October 29, 2026).